ST. LOUIS – Ferguson's former municipal court clerk who was fired last month over racially charged emails linked to her says she's not a bigot and that she shared the messages as funny items she didn't consider offensive.

The St. Louis suburb fired Mary Ann Twitty after the Justice Department called the emails into question in its report that found widespread racial bias in Ferguson's policing efforts and the municipal court system. The emails frequently belittled black residents and President Barack Obama.

The scrutiny followed uproar over August's shooting death of black 18-year-old Michael Brown by a white police officer.

Twitty told The Associated Press on Wednesday the emails "were jokes," and that "of course I'm not racist."